After our first night of sleeping in the Might Maui, we woke up to the chilled air of Mataranka. It seemed kind of silly putting on swim trunks (togs – the Aussie slang) and a bikini to go for an early-morning swim. Luckily, we had thrown our swimsuits in the... Continue reading

Traveling on a budget can be difficult, but I find we see a lot more of places because we aren't able to stay in anything that would involve "all inclusive." Plus staying in hostels or in this case, campgrounds, we tend to meet a lot more people who influence the nature and course of the trip. Not to mention, you learn a lot about yourself.

Sitting shotgun next to Ryan driving our nine-day home down the Stewart Highway listening to the appropriately queued 1968 song by The Who, I was staring out into the deserted horizon cherishing the isolated feel of the empty road and the uninhabited lands that passed for miles and miles and m...

It doesn't rain much here on the Sunshine Coast - the name lives up to expectations. But when it does rain, there is no holding back. On this dreary Saturday, our multi-cultural household is taking advantage of the inhibiting shower and getting some serious study done. We each set up... Continue reading

Sitting shotgun next to Ryan driving our nine-day home down the Stewart Highway listening to the appropriately queued 1968 song by The Who, I was staring out into the deserted horizon cherishing the isolated feel of the empty road and the uninhabited lands that passed for miles and miles and... Continue reading

After a nice time in Koh Samoi, Thailand with good friends, Ryan and I arrived in Australia. Somehow with no extra charge added despite our extremely over-weight luggage – thanks to Ryan’s charm…who knew? We arrived early afternoon in Brisbane after a pleasant, 9-hour flight on Thai airways. Since we... Continue reading

About three years ago, I spent days, weeks, even months saying goodbye to my family and friends in America with the intention of moving back after a one-year stint in China. Fast-forward to the present, and I just had to go through the same thing - the same feelings, emotions,... Continue reading

Two and a half years ago, I decided to embark on a journey that I had anticipated would change my perspective on life and on myself. I did not, however, forsee what has happened. While there is no doubt that my perspective has drastically changed in almost every way, the... Continue reading

There is New Years that most of the world celebrates, and then there is Chinese New Year which marks the start of the Lunar New Year. It is the most important festival in Chinese culture; therefore, everyone is traveling! While a lot of customs and traditions are practiced during this... Continue reading

First of all, I want to apologize for my absence. Once I returned from travelling, I picked up a lot of side jobs to make extra money for my semester travelling plans. Then people started to return to Nanjing after the summer break, my job started again, and I found... Continue reading

So far the journey had been amazing. I saw some of the coolest and prettiest places I have ever seen before, but I think this town was my favorite. The village is divided by the border between Sichuan and Gansu province, so half of the town is in one province,... Continue reading

So far the journey had been amazing. I saw some of the coolest and prettiest places I have ever seen before, but I think this town was my favorite. The village is divided by the border between Sichuan and Gansu province, so half of the town is in one province,... Continue reading

To get to Songpan we had to take a bus or rent a van. The only bus leaving the next day didn’t leave until 2:30 in the afternoon; normally, there is a bus leaving at 8:00am, but it was running illegally, so the government suspended its running time for one... Continue reading

To get to Songpan we had to take a bus or rent a van. The only bus leaving the next day didn’t leave until 2:30 in the afternoon; normally, there is a bus leaving at 8:00am, but it was running illegally, so the government suspended its running time for one... Continue reading

We had to take a bus from Chengdu to Jiuzhaigou. In talking to other travelers at the hostel, the hostel staff, and the ticket salesperson at the bus station, we found out that the normal route that takes 10-12 hours was closed because of land/mudslides, so we had to take... Continue reading

We had to take a bus from Chengdu to Jiuzhaigou. In talking to other travelers at the hostel, the hostel staff, and the ticket salesperson at the bus station, we found out that the normal route that takes 10-12 hours was closed because of land/mudslides, so we had to take... Continue reading

Arriving to our hostel at 3am really put a strain on our Chengdu plans. Instead of getting up early to see the whole city or go to the panda reserve, we slept in and basically wasted our day. However, it was absolutely necessary. There had already been too many nights... Continue reading

Arriving to our hostel at 3am really put a strain on our Chengdu plans. Instead of getting up early to see the whole city or go to the panda reserve, we slept in and basically wasted our day. However, it was absolutely necessary. There had already been too many nights... Continue reading

We took a 3-hour bus ride from Sanjiang to Guilin. Although we didn't get much sleep the night before, I was not able to catch any z's on the ride because the scenery was so gorgeous. Traveling through more villages, rice terraces, mountains, along streams and rivers, and seeing waterfalls... Continue reading

We took a 3-hour bus ride from Sanjiang to Guilin. Although we didn't get much sleep the night before, I was not able to catch any z's on the ride because the scenery was so gorgeous. Traveling through more villages, rice terraces, mountains, along streams and rivers, and seeing waterfalls... Continue reading

We made it to Sanjiang a little late. We were able to finally get off the train at 1:20am which arrived in Sanjiang County...not Sanjiang city. This meant that we had to take a half an hour van ride into the city where there is a place to stay. Luckily,... Continue reading

We made it to Sanjiang a little late. We were able to finally get off the train at 1:20am which arrived in Sanjiang County...not Sanjiang city. This meant that we had to take a half an hour van ride into the city where there is a place to stay. Luckily,... Continue reading

The first leg of our trip: Zhangjiajie...pronounced jongjiejia. The attraction: the mountainous views that inspired the movie Avatar. We arrived in this city located in Hunan province Friday afternoon on July 1st after spending 9 hours sitting on a hard seat in the train. I had vowed before leaving that... Continue reading

The first leg of our trip: Zhangjiajie...pronounced jongjiejia. The attraction: the mountainous views that inspired the movie Avatar. We arrived in this city located in Hunan province Friday afternoon on July 1st after spending 9 hours sitting on a hard seat in the train. I had vowed before leaving that... Continue reading

Summer is here! Which means that I will be traveling around China for the next 20 days...woohoo! I left Nanjing on June 27th for a crazy few days in Shanghai with Ryan and Zach. Those two departed from Pudong airport to go back to the States, while I met Molly,... Continue reading

Summer is here! Which means that I will be traveling around China for the next 20 days...woohoo! I left Nanjing on June 27th for a crazy few days in Shanghai with Ryan and Zach. Those two departed from Pudong airport to go back to the States, while I met Molly,... Continue reading